This week I have an important end-of-year announcement for you. As you are well aware, we have had a number of school cancellations this year, mostly due to weather. For the 2021-2022 school year we have had 10 of these days. Each school year, districts are allowed 6 forgiven days for unforeseeable circumstances, typically inclement weather or power outages. The Michigan Department of Education has a waiver system that allows districts that exceed 6 days of cancellation to apply for up to 3 additional days. We have applied for and expect our waiver to be granted, meaning that we have (as of the righting of this post) 1 additional day that we must make up in order to meet state requirements for this year.

OUR NEW LAST DAY OF SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS WILL BE FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2022. This new last day is assuming that MDE grants our waiver, but we have no reason to believe that the 3-day waiver will not be granted.

• Wednesday, June 8 will now be a FULL DAY OF SCHOOL
• Thursday, June 9 and Friday, June 10 will be EARLY RELEASE /MS-HS EXAMS

With the change in our last day of school we will be adjusting our end of school year festivities and will be sending those out in separate future communications.

In the coming weeks we should receive verification of the acceptance of our waiver, but we want you have the information now so that you may plan accordingly. With only having one day to make up and finishing in the same week, we hope that this change does not cause too much of an inconvenience to your summer plans.

Have a great weekend,

Mr. Ming

The Bay ISD is offering a CTE Summer Camp for grades 6-9 running June 20-23 from 8 am to 3 pm. Topics at the camp include: Cooking Around the World, Entrepreneur Junior, Metal Works, Programming and Electronics, Club Med, Cultivating Futures in Agriculture, and Construction Trades. The cost is $200 per camper. Register now at baisd.net. An information card was passed out to students who were interested. If your child does not have one and you would like one, please call the main office to obtain one.

So, does your child have a hard time keeping their room clean? Are they often late? Do they often lose their coats? If so, it could be that they have some degree of ADHD. Other common issues with individuals that have ADHD include prioritizing tasks, managing time, staying focused, difficulty getting tasks started, and transitioning from one task to another. So, what can we do to help out? Break things down. Instead of making general statements, be specific and break things up into specific steps. Avoid multi step directions and keep instructions clear and short. Get creative and create systems that are simple and easy for your child to understand. Build routines Repetition and routine are important to children with ADHD and will help them become more independent and develop confidence. Be patient. Building habits takes time and you can get there together. It’s okay for children to not be perfect right away. :)

We are excited to have our “new” school sign out front of the high school. Unfortunately, we have a row of bulbs out that has affected the lettering. So, if you drive by the school and see that “school” is spelled wrong (schcol) on our Hall of Fame message, it is a row of bulbs that don’t complete the letter “o”. We are in the process of rectifying this right now, and we will continue to work on our spelling. :)

Testing continued this week with our 3rd - 6th grade students completing the ELA M-STEP and our 7th grade taking the Math M-STEP. Many of our elementary students were working so hard that they needed a 3rd day to test, so we added an additional testing hour on Thursday. I will take any students who are not completed and finish them up during make-up sessions over the next couple of weeks.

Next week, 3rd-6th grade will be completing the Math M-STEP and 7th grade will take the ELA M-STEP. 8th grade students will be taking the Science M-STEP on Wednesday as well. We also have PSAT/SAT testing on Tuesday. State testing has many specific rules and guidelines that must be followed to maintain the integrity of the assessment results. Violation of any of these rules and guidelines requires incident reports to be filed with the state, which can result in tests being flagged as invalid. All staff members who administer tests are familiar with the requirements and have received state-mandated training in order to do so. One important guideline prohibits students from entering a test session once the assessment has begun. Therefore, it is important that students arrive at school on time on testing days, to avoid having to wait in the office for an extended period of time waiting for the assessment to end. For our middle school students, it is imperative that they bring their Chromebooks to school each day fully charged. With specific seating arrangements as a requirement for testing, we do not have the capability to have students plugging in Chromebooks during the sessions. Also, it is important to note that there are NO cell phones or electronic devices allowed in testing sessions. All cell phones must be turned off and either placed in a locker or with the test administrator for storage. Even if the students are finished, they cannot access their phones until the testing session is complete. If you need to reach your child during this time, please call the main office and leave a message with Mrs. Vollbach. We thank you in advance for your assistance with this!

Deadlines are fast approaching for this year's local scholarships that seniors can apply for. We had another year of great community support through scholarships and our seniors are very lucky to have these opportunities. If you are/have a senior and have not filled out the FAFSA yet, the extended deadline is May 1, 2022. Graduation is fast approaching for our seniors and we want to help them be as prepared for life outside of AGS as we can.

The Health Department has asked us to pass along that it is never too early to start thinking about back to school shots. If you will have a new student joining AGS next year, you can get ahead of the game by scheduling your vaccinations now. See the attachment below for details.

Resources are both linked and attached as PDF files:

• COVID-19 Home Ellume Test Quick Start Guide
• OTC Parent Letter
• MI Backpack Information Packet

Rain, gray, and cold can't keep us down. Spring Sports are here!

Next Week's Game Schedule

Monday, 4/25:

• Varsity Baseball and Softball AWAY @ Rogers City, 4pm
• MS Track AWAY @ Whittemore-Prescott, 4pm

Tuesday, 4/26:

• Varsity Track AWAY @ Oscoda, 4pm

Wednesday, 4/27:

• JV Baseball HOME vs. Hale, 4pm

Thursday, 4/28:

• Varsity Baseball and Softball AWAY @ Oscoda, 4pm

Friday, 4/29:

• JV Baseball HOME vs. Whittemore-Prescott, 4pm

Saturday, 4/30:

• Varsity Softball AWAY @ Hillman Tourney
• JV Baseball AWAY @ Whittemore-Prescott Tourney

Important dates for April for the Au Gres-Sims School District.

APRIL

One normal week of April left before we head into May!

The PTO is doing a spirit wear fundraiser of AGS Gear. The order opportunity ends on May 2nd, so get it while it lasts!

https://au-gres-sims-spirit-wear-2022.itemorder.com/

We are looking to add several community-minded members to our amazing team. If you or anyone you know might be interested in joining the Au Gres-Sims staff, please check out the employment opportunities section of our website.

https://www.ags-schools.org/employment-opportunities--95

Job Opportunities at AGS

• Full-time Special Education Teacher (1.0, but flexible to part time if desired by the candidate)

• Cafeteria Worker/Cook (available immediately to complete the 21-22 school, with carryover into the 22-23 school year).

We are also always on the lookout for substitute teachers. If interested, please inquire with Mrs. Miller in the district administration office, (989) 876-7157.

Looking Ahead to the 2022-2023 School Year

We are already planning ahead for next school year and looking for the very best to fill our ranks and join the AGS Family. We need your help! Please spread the word that we are on the lookout for the following anticipated positions for the 22-23 School Year.

• Elementary Teacher

• K-12 Art Teacher

• Bus Driver

• Food Services Director

This week's issue marks our 52 issue landmark! In case you're wondering what that means, we're not really sure, but our Editor-in-Chief says we're "kind of a big deal" now. Thank you for reading!

Issue 52: April 21, 2022

Email: web@ags-schools.org
Website: www.ags-schools.org
Location: 310 South Court Street, Au Gres, MI, USA
Phone: (989) 876-7150
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuGresSims/?ref=br_rs
Twitter: @agsschools